Gentlemen (and ladies): Start your conspiracy theories.
The league has ruled Pacioretty commited an illegal hit to the head “in which the head was targeted as the principal point of contact.”
Unless he appeals the decision, Max-Pac will miss the Canadiens’ games in AnaheimWednesday, San Jose on Thursday and Los Angeles on Saturday. He will forfeit $ 26,351.34 in salary.
Here’s Brandan Shanhan’s explanation, with video.
“When cutting across the middle on a play like this, all players accept that a full body check may be looming,” Shanahan says. “However, what no player should expect is that his head will become the principal point of contact on a hit.”
Shanahan said the positioning of Kris Letang’s head on the play did not effect the itent of Max Pacioretty’s check.
The onus “was on Pacioretty to make sure he didn’t make Letang’s head the principal point of contact.”
While Pacioretty asserted, in his Monday morning phone conversation with Shanhan, that Letang’s leaninging into his shot changed the angle of the hit, Shanahan ruled “it is still his reponsibility to make principal contact through the core of Letang’s body.”
Instead, the NHL disciplinarian ruled, Pacioretty shifted his weight to his right leg, making Letang’s head the principal point of contact.
In levying a three-game suspension, Shanahan acknowledged Pacioretty has “no history of supplementary discipline”.
Well, until now.
And just for comparison, here’s another three-game suspension – for André Deveaux’s hit on Thomas Fleishmann.
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I must admit I was shocked by the hit while I was watching the game. I immediately knew this was going to be trouble for Patches. I figured he was going to get hit right away with a charging penalty….but, funny thing….no penalty called on the play. The refs who are”supposed” to be watching the puck, never got together for a discussion on this matter to review it…..sorta the 3 blind mice project. But nobody ie. Shanny, the league office etc. has explained why Letang didn’t have to go to the quiet room for the full 15 minutes. He should not have been allowed to play in the OT. The fact that he did…the play should have been stopped and the Pens to be penalized for “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” Additionally, the fact that he went to his dressing room…why wasn’t his jersey changed as per NHL rules? And why was this not enforced again with another “Unsportsmanlike Penalty”?
And yes….why isn’t our Team Management speaking up about this whole Dog & Pony show farce of “Justice”. Oh I forgot….they did. You might have missed it…It was a one word statement from JM on Saturday night: “Disappointing” …..no one is quite sure what he is attributing that too however: the winning goal, the fact the whistle was blown even though the puck had been covered for 5 sec. and that the referee acknowledged he had lost site of it before then, the success of the PP, Gomez’s scoring spree( 8 Goals in 1994 Road Hockey loss to Baker St. Bullies – 16-11).
Off to California……
“I reject your reality and substitute my own”.
- Adam Savage
My understanding of the rule is that it’s called “body checking”, not “head checking”. On that note, I think our friend J.T. has it right…
“Did player X hit player Y in the head. Yes = Suspension.”
No interpretation. Decisive. Something this simple would make Shannahan’s job easier and would help to restore some credibility to the NHL.
I’ve always drilled it into any kid I’ve ever coached that there’s no honour in hitting any player who is in no position to defend himself. To me its just an act of cowardice. Now if the NHL could get its head out of its nether region on this concept we could actually see progress.
“Shut up and play against him” – Bob Gainey (2011 Heritage Classic)
Surprised? No.
Angry? Yes.
As many have said, there is no consistency on how the NHL rules on ‘dangerous plays’.
Personally, I’m not surprised, but I do feel the wrong decision was made here.
If Cole hadn’t lifted Letang’s stick, Letang would likely have braced himself and absorbed a good open ice hit. The ONLY reason this happened is because Letang did not expect Cole to lift his stick and therefore he got distracted from the hit in order to try and recontrol the puck. In other words, Letang saw Pacioretty coming and he tried to play the puck instead of brace for the hit, which is EXACTLY the reason Shanny decided NOT to suspend Malone.
Disappointing to say the least, but life goes on, Letang’s fine and that’s what is important.
We should be called the Montreal Drama Queens instead of the Montreal Canadiens.
Come on people! What difference does it matter?
We lose MaxPac to 3 games!
Move forward and not backwards!
This team has more problems with the fragile Markov being out or Pacioretty being suspended.
Focus on ohter players like Plekanec, Pacioretty, Gomez, Gorges, and others who are nothing more than average players in this league who can’t step it up for us!
Gonna be a tough battle to gain that 8th place finish for the playoffs to make the Habs’ fans happy.
Chancesare very slim for this team even before the season began.
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
I agree with you on the players you mention – completely. There are many more things to worry about than the suspension of Pacioretty. But taken as a single incident, it doesn’t seem like the league is getting things right on a consistent level.
I think this is more of an NHL issue than a Habs issue (as you rightly point out) but it is still worth discussing, no? As long as the discussion is kept reasonable, and we all know that might be a tough thing to ask =)
Visit me at http://www.bleedbleublancrouge.com and http://www.allhabs.net
aha wow is all I can say. I called it. It made sense that Chara and lucic didn’t get suspended but max did in some kind of Conspiracy theory kind of way. Anyone who understands how retarded and unfair Shannyfag is could see this coming.
What makes this guy Shanahan such an authority on head shots .Was it because he was one of the dirtiest players in the game.
“The fish is rotten from the head.” Newfie saying.
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Break a nose get 3 games. Break a neck get 0 games. NHL = Nonsense Hockey League.
Shanahan and his ….ahem associates…. are regular hanging judges unless the perp is a member of the Bruins or the Pens ( Hello Matt Cook) in which case the John Howard Society is too extreme for them.The NHL continues its descent to WWF status
How come when a Bruin commits a crime shanny doesn’t punish but says oh I made a mistake but will get it right next time. But when a Hab commits a crime he gets it right, right from the get go. Yes MaxPac deserves to be punished and yes it is better for the long term status of the game. I see the point tho, whether others got punished or not should not be the issue. The issue is to get closer to getting it right from this point on, and from any point on after learning from past mistakes. yes the ultimate goal is to create a head shot free safe NHL. It just sucks that other teams have gotten a pass from a admitted mistake, and some teams benefited more than once because of shanny’s/daddy campbell’s mistakes, it just makes you wonder if something else is going on other than caring about the long term state of the game.
Explain to me how it is better for the long term status of the game? Everyone is dillusional if they think that the NHL and Shanahan will get it right from this point forward. Just like they have been getting it right since the Chara hit on Patches last season. Just like they got it right with Crosby’s elbow on Foligno, which by the way did not even warrant a review by Shanahan.
There is enough evidence over the years to demonstrate that the NHL is not consistent in handing out discipline and they have no intention of doing so. It is a tiered justice system where a player’s status and the influence of the team owner within league circles will dictate the amount of punishment or lack therefore that is handed out.
Trust me this is the reality and we as fans have two choices, 1. Accept and keep cheering for our teams, or 2. Stop watching
Campbell jr. is a UFA so spend 1.1 mil and bring him on board. Maybe this stuff will stop.
Hire Jacobs as a ‘consultant’ ha.
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Break a nose get 3 games. Break a neck get 0 games. NHL = Nonsense Hockey League.
I’m astonished by the surprise! Anyone who was not expecting this has not been paying attention during the Buttman era. Pittsburgh and Boston receive treatment equal to the other teams, just a little more equal. Pittsburgh has been a “favored child” for many years. Boston has been a “favored child” since their ownership got Gary a huge new contract. Canadian teams are all treated like the addled old aunt who takes whatever crumbs of attention are being handed out. Its just One Big Happy (pro-American) family.
The first problem is that Shanahan is not qualified to make judgements about intent to injure (Max admits he was trying to stop Latang from scoring a goal). How does Shanahan “know” that Max intended to injure him? Is he a mind reader?
The second problem is with the pseudo science involved in determining whether Max had time to avoid contact with Latang’s head. Is Shanahan an expert on split second decision making? Or an expert on whether a movement is deliberate or a reflex?
The result is that all of the recent suspension decisions come off as arbitrary or biased. It seems the only solution is to suspend a player for any head contact.
Although the apple does look kinda rotten too
You have to look at the BIG picture….not just at home… If the tree is dying don’t kick the apple…..
NO!! keep it Canadian… It’s the original…
I just want to know why it has never been addressed by the league that Letang did not sit in the quiet room for 15 minutes as per league rules. Should not the Penguins be fined for this? I agree that Patches deserved 1 game, but not 3! Deveaux gets 3 games for a Match penalty for deliberate attempt to injure, how is this consistent. Please Mr. Shamhaman explain the Campoli hit to me once again? Mr Molson you need to grow a set and appeal this suspension. This is now a pussy league, you can skate right through the slot with your head down and if you ar hit wam suspension, give me a break. Time to clean house at league office, starting with Jeremy Jacobs. If Molson fails to act then I hope that Montreal misses the playoffs and he loses $$$$…wake up, Americans are running and ruining this league, Kick butthead back to Basketball, better yet let him try to skate through the slot and nail him with a Scott Stevens check. Pure Bush League!!!!
Better yet please Mr. Gillette buy the team back!
I have honestly always felt that sports leagues do not single out teams and refs do not call games biased. They may be inept, but they don’t favor teams…until now. I’m a big Steelers fan, the league discourages everything about the Steelers, they hate big hits on Defence now, they hate the running game, etc. They are NOT doing it to be against the Steelers, its a coincidence.
This on the other hand, looks fishy and I am repulsed. I am actually raising an eye brow to this and wondering if this sham of a league who hates Canadian teams and now I think they really hate the Habs. I didn’t like Blundin jumping off the bench early and taking a cheap shot because he should not have been on the ice, I didn’t like the way Max ran at this guy. Both were not malicious with intent to injure like the others have been so well documented on here.
I don’t even kow what to say, I am beside myself at the inconsistency. I feel it devalues the game and discredits the leaders.
We Canadians are a classy bunch of grinders…don’t stoop to their mentality..
Agreed!!!! But what to do??????
Meant Bettman…stupid keys are too small….
Bergman has perverted the NHL into a WWF clone…. A “sports entertainment” league… What about good HOCKEY????? doesn’t it mean anything anymore??
Who’s “Bergman”?
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Bench Gomer. It’ll (re)build character.
I’m okay with Patch getting a suspension. I honestly expected 2 games from the head office. The league is ‘trying’ to clean it’s act up and I applaud that.
The complete joke here is the inconsistency in handing out suspensions to players. How can a hit like this be so wrong on one hand for one player but completely legal and a part of hockey for another? I just don’t get it anymore. How can a Malone or Lucic get away with what they do on a regular basis and Patch get nailed with 3? I was certain that Malone and Lucic would be gone for a minimum of 5 each but nothing? Doesn’t make any sense to me.
Couple this with the blown OT goal call or non-call by the ref who WAS in a position to blow the play dead and you really have to wonder where this game and league is going…..
I agree….. This isn’t the NHL we loved for so long anymore….it’s the “Keystone Kops” sequel…. Time to form a Canadian hockey league instead and get down to good ‘ol hockey again….
I sometimes think the Canadian teams (and Buffalo, who get shafted like they are a Canadian team…Brett Hull’s Stanley Cup winning goal has to be one of the biggest travesties in sports in my lifetime) should just split off from the NHL and form their own league. They could maybe invite along the Rangers, who have an active dislike for the NHL head office as well, and give the finger to the league’s executives. Those 8 teams represent a substantial majority of the league’s profits…without them, about 15 of the league’s other teams fold within 3 years.
It would be interesting to watch. Will never happen, but yah that would be nice.
Nothing will change… The higher ups are entrenched in their secure positions….they may, however, become a laughing stock, if they continue their haphazard decisions
Just watched the Malone hit on Campoli again, and the Chara Max incident, and the Lucic steamroll. It is INSANE that this is the only one they choose to suspend. 3 plays that were dangerous with intent – unpunished. 1 play that was dangerous with zero intent – punished for 3 games.
I do believe Max was slightly reckless, and a bad consequence came from his recklessness, so yes, I think he deserves to be suspended. I just can’t grasp how the others weren’t.
Does he just roll the dice? I mean what the hell is wrong with him?
There needs to be consistency. They need a committee of 3-4 people to make these decisions- not a buffoon.
How drole is the humour in Boston…..
The inside word is that Shanny was going to level a 5 game suspension however in a show of sportsmanship both Lucic and Chara talked with Shanny and got it reduced to 3. Stop whining and be grateful that diving is not a suspendable offense or you have to suit up the Hamilton roster to field a team.
God Bless the Boston Bruins and Hockey
Go Bruins
It is easy for you say from where you stand…the grass is always greener on your side isn’t it ?
Chara hit on MaxPac 0 games
Lucic runs goalie 0 games
Ference fingers a country…his country !!!!
Marchand repeatedly sucker punches a player !!
Horton sprays water bottle at fans !!!!
This is the bottom line, and there is no disputing this. The truth and nothing but the truth. The league is corrupt with Bettman – Shanny – Daddy Campbell – Jacobs at the helms …the axis of evil !!!!!!!
As others have written here, it’s the lack of consistency that is most frustrating in all of this. I’m a Bruins fan, and believe it or not, I agree Chara and Lucic should have both been given a few games off (and if MIller had made contact on Lucic with that wild swing of his stick he should have been suspended, too). It’s an embarrassment to the league to see Max Pac get three for this and then watch the Deveaux video and find out the penalty is the same in both cases. I’d love to be a fly on the wall when these suspensions are discussed — the mental contortions Campbell, Shanny, etc. have to go through to come up with this stuff must be hilarious to listen to.
I agree. All you have stated are facts except :
1. Ference finger. He didn’t flip off his country he flipped off Habs fans. God Bless you Andrew.
2. Axis of evil-please. Your team stinks right now. .500 and out of playoffs . Stop with the whinning. The Candians are a proud and storied faranchaise who will compete for Stanley Cup in future. In the mean time stop whinning about gettin robbed, gettin jobbed wah wah wah.It is laughable.
I really hope Bruins play Canadains in playoffs again this season. For whatever reason they give Bruins fits like no other team. Nothing better than Habs Bruins playoffs.
Go Bruins
agree. All you have stated are facts except :
1. Ference finger. He didn’t flip off his country he flipped off Habs fans. God Bless you Andrew.
2. Axis of evil-please. Your team stinks right now. .500 and out of playoffs . Stop with the whinning. The Candians are a proud and storied faranchaise who will compete for Stanley Cup in future. In the mean time stop whinning about gettin robbed, gettin jobbed wah wah wah.It is laughable.
I really hope Bruins play Canadains in playoffs again this season. For whatever reason they give Bruins fits like no other team. Nothing better than Habs Bruins playoffs.
Go Bruins
Go Bruins
Ference flipped off the people that pay his salary – NHL fans.
James Wisniewski was suspended for 2 games for flipping off a fellow player – why wasn’t Ference suspended?
Why wasn’t he penalized or suspended for elbowing Halpern 80 feet from the play?
Why wasn’t Chara suspended for INTENTIONALLY injuring Pacioretty?
Why wasn’t Lucic suspended for running Miller?
ETC. ETC. ETC.
Get our of your delusional Bruins fan bubble, and think about these questions honestly please.
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Bench Gomer. It’ll (re)build character.
Outraged isn’t a strong enough word for how I feel about this….consistency is the key to respect…sadly lacking in this “boy’s club”….I’m outta here….world junior championships here I come…GO CANADA!!!!!!!!
The coach and players on this pp excuse for a team have to learn what you can hit and can’t hit. Admittedly it would be easier if the NHL just put the “no hit” stickers on those players. This is all Bob Gainey’s fault. When Shanny said he was interested second time around he should have coughed up a couple years.
What a BS league. It’s like rec hockey.
My take on Maxs suspension with Sidneys team goes like this, seeing their the NHLs poster team;
Shanny- Mr. Shero, what would you like for us to do on this hit on your boy.
Shero- Give him the full suspension,to show the rest of the league we are winning the cup, with your and Bettmans help.
Shanny- 3 games it is , and we will look after your team.
Its time for Habs fans to send a message to league office that we as fans have enough of your bull. Its time to walk away from the rink and watch at home on TV. Maybe Buttman and Co. will get a clear message that Canadians are fed up with some teams getting nothing for their hits to opposing players. Enough of this crap. Boycott all home games and send a clear message we fans had enough and maybe someone in organizations has balls enough to stand up to Mr. Jacobs and Co for all empty seats.
All hits to the head should be automatic suspension. Last year in playoffs when Andrew Ference elbows Jeff Halpern to the head when he was not looking and Bruins gets nothing for it. There are a lot more inccidents were Bruin players should have recieved suspensions and league office decides to turn the other way by calling nothing.
Its time for management to stand up and be accountable for their players by going publicly with some of decisions handed down by saying you are all bias in your decision making. When will the brass decide enough is enough and have balls to stand up for their team instead of going with decision being made. Habs fans its time to walk away from this game we all love so dearly until the league makes every inccident accountable on the ice.
Patches deserved 2-3 games and now will play soft for the remainder of the year once he comes back to play. Our Habs are soft as it is and will continue to do so for the rest of this season. Every player should be suspended for the crime they did on the ice and be accounted for by bososo’s the clowns that run this game. What will happen next? Tune in for Shanny’s reasoning on the next Bruin that goes by without being suspend. Double trouble in Coaches Corner and CBC Ron Maclean on suspensions.
Go Habs Go
Patches deserves the suspension. Malone deserves one too, as well as lucic on miller. No conspiracy talk. Just a wish for consistency.
agreed. Pax deserved 3, but so did Malone. Deveaux should be out 5. Lucic: 4-5.
I posted earlier saying that I thought the hit was legal, but after seeing Shanahan´s video I buy his explanation. Actually I am impressed with Shanahan.
I assumed that because Letang was so low and about to take a shot that his head must have significantly changed position. But if you look at the video, remarkably, he doesn´t do this. Pacioretty probably could have made a different kind of check. Not easy, given Letang´s position, but possible. I think it was JUST over the line (two games would´ve been more appropriate).
This is one of those calls that would´ve been no suspension in the past. You can see that the NHL IS drawing a new line. I actually think this suspension is going to be a benchmark because it sends a message that JUST because the opponent has put himself in a vulnerable position, that isn´t enough; it´s only a suspension if he changes his head position at the last second. This is probably one of the best instances to date where you can see that nuance which has now become so important.
I think the league has fine tuned the rules as much as they can regarding head shots; they have managed to differentiate between subtle differences in hits which you would have thought are too difficult to police.
The league should at this point become a bit less obsessed with the headshot and more concerned with recklessness, i.e. a guy skating across the ice at full tilt (and gaining speed to do it) to hammer someone, like Pacioretty did here, is what needs to be looked at in future.
I DO see a (slight) difference between this hit and the Malone hit and others.
I do think Chara should have had a suspension, but that was last year before the change of guard, and to be honest those types of hits happen frequently, the only difference was the presence of the stanchion, which you can´t prove Chara knew was right there.
Could you see Jacobs holding the cue cards for Shanahan in the background as well?
this is a miscarriage of justice to the habs! if pacioretty was a bruin or a player on his buddy’s team(the lightning) he wouldn’t have got any suspension! shanahan your a joke! where is malone’s suspension? where is lucic’s suspension? tell me how lucic can get away with anything he wants and gets no suspension,and max delivers a clean hit and gets 3 games!! i guess you can expect a nice christmas bonus in your pay from bettman’s de-facto boss jeremy jacobs the bruins owner! geoff molson if you have any testiculiar fortitude you’ll appeal this and confort shanahan on this and ask him why lucic and the bruins can do wahtever they want a get away with it,but when a hab does something he gets a suspension,ask him how much influence jacobs has,and show him proof by using the lucic ,and chara hit on max pac then watch shanahan sqiurm and you’ll see how gutless he really is when it comes to suspending the bruins!
You’re all assuming that just because Shanahan has the job title that he is the one who actually decides anything. Last time I checked, Colin Campbell wasn’t fired by the league. He’s still there, and probably in the office next to Shanny’s. It wouldn’t surprise me the least bit if Shanahan was brought in to give the outward impression of impartiality that was lacking under Campbell, but only for that – to give the outward impression. In reality, Campbell and a small cadre of GM’s like Brian Burke are still pulling the strings. They let Shanny do it his way for the first couple of incidents and when they saw how severe he planned to be, set out to immediately reign him in.
To me, Shanahan is just a puppet. Hockey Dad is still the guy in charge.
Exactly, the whole “Shanahan video” concept is just a BS PR stunt. I love it how they put up these videos and leave absolutely no room for debate or comment.
It’s like living in a pseudo-democracy where a news anchorman (Shanahan) gives the news of a verdict that has been reached and he’s explaining the decision but no one has seen a jury, heard any of the debate or heard the defense. For all I know, it could be a lonely Pacioretty on the other side of the phone just listening to Shanahan (or whoever) rambling on.
I’m curious as to what actually happens when they talk to players on the phone… Seems like these conversations are very one sided. Maybe they should have open hearings? I cannot imagine Pacioretty simply nodding and staying silent to such a decision especially after what happened to him last year.
Brendan Shanahan is a joke and so is the NHL. The silence that teams, players and the NHLPA exert in double standard situations like this is mind boggling…
No one seems to have a pair between the legs.
The clincher, as Mr. Boone points out, is the fact that André Deveaux got the exact same suspension for his hit on Tomas Fleischmann, an elbow delivered in malice and forethought flush on his chin, and for which to make contact he had to change his trajectory and extend his left arm.
Max tried to hit his opponent with his shoulder, tried to make a clean hit on his opponent. He is obviously sensitive to the dangers of hits to the head. He is a talented hockey player who can contribute to a team’s success, as opposed to Mr. Deveaux, who on the ice is an irredeemable thug.
Mr. Shanahan had contorted himself to find ways to absolve Ryan Malone of any culpability for his hit on Chris Campoli in the pre-season, and in this eerily similar case he took the complete opposite tack and threw the book at Mr. Pacioretty. Mr. Boone semi-jokingly refers to the howls of outrage, and Canadiens fans have a reputation for having a persecution complex, but it’s not paranoia when they’re really out to get you.
I’m not one of those who calls for the firing of Mr. Gauthier or Mr. Martin, but in the long term the Canadiens need to have managers who hold influence in the league, like Serge Savard did and Réjean Houle didn’t. I’m beginning to think that not only are the Canadiens a soft target on the ice, but also in the league boardrooms.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Just listening to shanny’s explanation in the video, you can tell he is acting differently to players he dislikes just in the the words he uses (maliciously target the head, for example), compared to how he described deveaux’s hit (a reflex, which to anyone else looks like an intentional elbow lift, and an attempted knee on knee trip), it’s disgusting! Shanny, or should I say Shammy, is playing favorites and needs to go!
I just don’t get the lack of consistency. Doesn’t Shannahan go back to his prior rulings to compare what he’s deemed to be suspendable?
Don’t get me wrong; I completely thought that Max deserved 2-3 games, if only to reinforce the message about elevated open ice hits. But considering what plays haven’t led to suspensions, I thought that Max was in the clear.
This decision just muddies what is and isn’t appropriate play.
I guess that means open ice hitting is gone from the game, the only thing you can do now is guide a guy into the boards carefully, because if he hits his head, or you hit his back, or if you touch a guy in open ice(where his head automatically snaps forward), then you will be suspended. LAME.